In the big picture, a school is a holistic learning environment. We are a small business. We listen to educators, and have been doing so for over fifty years now. In our experience, we have learned that furniture and technology must be integral to a specific grade or course of study for both the students and their teacher. We have come to specialize in K-12 environments and the diversity of learning spaces within.
We want our education clients to view us as a partner, not a furniture vendor selling tables and chairs to a school from a catalog or online shopping cart. In turn, we have developed practices that follow our educators and their specific curriculum. We call these practices, Learning Space Design, defined here as-
The K-12 curricular integration of movement and furniture with AV and mobile device technologies within a learning space.
As a company, we strive in all of our projects to better understand the curriculum within a learning space so that we can optimally craft the educator’s vision of that space.
Traditionally:
• a classroom is a place where students are taught;
• a library is a place to research, read or study;
• a lab, or shop as places for hands-on learning activities;
• a studio is a place where things or performances are created.
As 21st century teaching and learning practices embrace collaborative and project-based learning, the pedagogical change from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning is also changing traditionally furnished classrooms as well. Here, the physical learning space itself plays a key role in our students mental and physical well-being and becomes embedded with a school’s overall social and emotional learning plans.
Traditional learning spaces designed with a singular purpose are transformed to multi-purpose learning spaces. This transformation from 20th-century to 21st-century learning spaces uses a new lexicon to describe the metamorphosis from –
1. Classroom to Learning Studio
2. Library to Learning Commons
3. Lab or Shop to Makerspace, STEAM, Esports, etc.
4. Various outside spaces converted to Outdoor Learning Spaces
Other traditional schools spaces are experiencing the same change from-
1. Cafeteria to Cafe or Dining Commons
2. Counseling Office to Wellness Center
3. Staff Lounge to Professional Learning Center
Traditional learning spaces now take on a more eclectic function. From whole class instruction, the learning space becomes ‘flexible’ by using mobile and modular furniture and technology. Furniture that moves allow for in-the-moment small work groups, or even gives students the option for personal space and teacher options for testing, or social distancing from a flu outbreak, for example. In essence, the movement of the students, teacher, furniture and technology within the learning space, optimizes all learning activities.
Let’s take a look how D&D has been working with K-12 schools to craft their transformations. Here are three quick examples.
1. D&D’s CTE Projects
As classrooms become more mobile and modular, we can start to take a fresh look at the whole space that is typically no more and sometimes less than 960 square feet (the California minimum requirement for 1st-12th grade classrooms). Here is a before and after transformation with a high school CTE classroom to a Video Production Studio.
Before
After
2. D&D Library/Learning Commons Projects
In libraries, we typically have more area space to work with and can craft a variety of ‘learning zones.’ Here is a before and after transformation of a high school library to a “Quest Center.”
Before
After
3. D&D Lab/STEAM/Makerspace Projects
As many makerspaces are created using typical classrooms, here’s a staff concept to transformation in repurposing a portable classroom at an elementary school, now called “The Makery.”
Before Design by Teachers
and the finished Makerspace
Here below is D&D’s Project Portfolio & Inspiration Spaces in the K-12 Learning Environment (that’s always being updated). You can find this list in our drop-down top main menu under, ‘Learning Spaces.’
THE K-12 LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
This post was updated on August 19th, 2024
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